Rain and Fire
by desrm
Summary: oneshot . LP. The raging rain and the fire inside of her lead her to him, the only one she has left. Set shortly after 4x05.


Normally she wouldn't dream of being outside in these conditions. At least any sane person wouldn't favour it. The heavy rain was rudely slapping against her skin as she closed her eyes and embraced the way it felt. She was drenched from head to toe, but there was nothing she could care less about. Instead she loved the feeling- to be completely enveloped by the raging rain as her feet met the wet ground with each step she took forward. It felt cleansing. It felt warm. It felt good.

She didn't know what had led her out into the storm. Somehow the feeling of emptiness had enticed her to search for something more- anything to make her feel something. At least anything **but** what she was thinking about at that moment. Her heart had to be playing some sick joke on her. She just couldn't be feeling this way, not again, not after the last time. All thoughts and sense of coherency left her when she realized where her footsteps had taken her... a foot away from his doorstep.

Her weak legs barely managed to get her over the two steps leading to his door.

She knocked. She hoped he wasn't there. Maybe he wouldn't hear her gentle knocking. Maybe he just wanted to be alone. Maybe by the sweet grace of god he wouldn't open the door... but the door opened.

"Peyton, what are you doing here? Oh my god, you're soaked. Get in here it's not safe out there." He said frantically as he set eyes on the sight of her. Just then a bolt of lighting snapped in the distance, illuminating the black sky for but a moment. It light up his face and set a spark in his eyes. She cursed him for looking so amazing, she loved those blue eyes. "Come on." He whispered, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her inside. She shivered as her body adjusted to the warm air of his bedroom. He ran quickly down the hall, leaving her there, but returning as fast as he came with an oversized towel in hand. She still didn't speak as he walked in. She didn't move. She didn't even blink.

The concern in him was obvious as he wrapped the towel around her shoulders and rubbed her arms up and down soothingly, hoping to chase the chill from her body. She could feel her temperature go up a tenfold as he touched her with such care. She closed her eyes and sighed as a single, cold tear ran down her cheek. Why couldn't he hate her? If he hated her at least she could pretend to do the same. That was all she had been doing... pretending. Pretending she didn't love him. Pretending she didn't need him. Pretending that every fiber in her being didn't crave and call out for Lucas Scott.

"What's wrong, Peyton?" he asked, wiping the tear away from her fragile face. She shook her head, her eyes still closed, and stepped away from his reach. "Peyton." He said her name with more urgency this time, leaving a residue of confusion in the air as he stared at her, bewildered. She had never denied his touch before. Not even after being attacked and nearly raped by her fake brother. Actually he knew he was the only person she **hadn't** closed herself off to. She opened her eyes and met his gaze, her pools of green temporarily invaded by red as her pain revealed itself to him.

"I just... I needed to walk. And I- I guess I just ended up here." She said, taking a small step towards him. He stared at her, still confused. When she didn't speak any further he merely nodded his head, reaching a soothing hand out to her shoulder and studying her for a reaction. She closed the space between them, leaning her head on his chest, needing to feel his warmth. She listened to his heartbeat; it was faster than usual as he gently wrapped his arms around her, afraid to disturb her delicacy. He didn't care that the water clinging to her clothing was soaking through his own. He had to comfort her the only way he knew how.

She pulled away from him, taking one of his hands in hers and gently squeezing it, silently thanking him for being so wonderful. He smiled warmly at her. That damn 'Lucas Scott' smile that made her melt. She couldn't forget it if she bludgeoned a case of amnesia upon herself.

"Why don't you stay here tonight? I don't want you back out in the rain. You can change into something else; I'll lend you some clothes of mine." He said, taking the then damp towel off her shoulders. She nodded, a small and sincere smile playing on her lips as she let go of his hand. "Okay." He whispered, making his way to his dresser. He pulled out an old t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts before handing them to her. "Don't worry Peyton, they're clean." He grinned and winked at her. "I'll just wait in the hall while you change."

"Don't be stupid Luke, stay in here. Just turn around." She didn't want him to leave the room. If he did, she knew she would probably do the same and wander back into the raging rain. She loved nothing more than being with him. But she also feared nothing more than being around him. She couldn't trust her heart when he was in her presence. And it was a known fact that when Peyton Sawyer was scared, she ran. She stared into him, knowing that her glance probably gave her pleading demeanour completely away, but she didn't care. He raised his hands in mock surrender, laughing lowly, as he did as she told him.

"Okay, coast is clear." She announced as she pulled the shirt over her head. He turned around, his eyes settling on her and a boyish grinning forming on his face.

"You look kind of hot in my clothes, Blondie." He said, his head tilting slightly to the side as he continued to smile at her, stopping only to offer a not-so-subtle wink. She felt an uncontrollable heat rush to her cheeks as she blushed against her will.

"Shut up, Luke!" She half screamed, half whined as she playfully hit him on the arm. He laughed, taking her damp clothes from her and hanging them over a chair. When he turned to face her again the smile had disappeared from her face and instead there was a look of seriousness on her face that left him taken aback. He felt her sense of vulnerability and cursed himself for not knowing exactly what was wrong with her, and especially for not knowing how to chase away her demons. So instead he opted to make her as comfortable as possible.

"Ladies first." He said after pulling back the blankets on her side of the bed. She smiled genuinely, though her eyes did not meet his. She stared down, slowly climbing into his bed and pulling the blankets just below her chin. He met her on the same side, sitting down on the mattress next to her legs. He gazed at her, baring the fact that he cared for her so much just through one look from his blue eyes. Piercing blue eyes like ice, but warm like no other. He reached a hand out to her face, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair away from her face. "What's wrong, Peyton?" He asked her in such a delicate voice that she almost thought she felt her heart separate from her body and land right on his lap.

She wanted to laugh inwardly. She wanted to break down and cry. She wanted to scream. Yell at him. Scream at him over and over, "_You! You__'__re what__'__s wrong with me! I can__'__t get you out of my head! I__'__m madly in love with you and I hate you for it!__"_ She wanted to confess everything until her voice could have no more. But instead she lied. "I've always hated thunderstorms." She said, laughing nervously. As if on cue, a snap of thunder sounded in the distance. She took the opportunity as he looked out the window to swallow as much as she could of the lump that had formed in her throat and close her eyes for a moment, fighting back another set of fresh tears.

A minute later he was lying next to her in his bed, nestling himself under the blankets. He turned to face her, the concern he had for her still evident. She inched closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Lucas." she whispered, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly. He rolled gently onto his side, careful not to leave her perplexed as her head fell off his shoulder. He stroked her cheek with a tenderness that sent a force throughout her body that she felt only when her touched her.

"What for?" he asked her simply, his gaze catching hers as she stared at him with a glance that he couldn't read. There was a mixture of emotions in her eyes- fear, pain, exhaustion, and something he recognized but couldn't identify. They held so many different feelings that he smiled. Peyton was always such a mystery to him. Like a puzzle or a riddle that he was always searching the answer of.

"For being the only thing I have left." She stated. She looked away from him as she finished the sentence, not being able to handle his reaction.

"Peyton I'm not-"

"Yes you are, Luke. You're the only thing I have left. I had two mothers, they're both dead. My dad's out to sea and who knows if he even cares enough to come back at some point. The guy that told me he was my brother attacked me and left me afraid to be alone, and my real brother got shipped off to Iraq... and Brooke hates me. So what do I have left, Luke? Because I don't see it." She spoke with such a tone of disparity and weariness that he could do nothing but stare at her, into her, feeling every ounce of her pain. When he said nothing, she continued to speak. "Everyone I've ever opened up to has left me, Luke. You're the only one I have left. And that scares me because I can't lose you. Not you." She trailed off as fresh tears built up her eyes and started cascading down her face. "Please don't leave me." She pleaded with him, finally looking back into his eyes, searching for a response somewhere in him.

And like a magnet, his lips were on hers. Shock spread through her like an unstoppable force and for a moment she was incredibly still, eyes wide open and mouth unmoving. He placed his soothing fingers near her the back of her neck, his thumb resting on her cheek, drawing invisible circles there. And so she gave into the perfection of his lips. Soft and gentle, they were like pillows against her own. An involuntary whimper escaped her as he kissed her with added passion, his free hand meeting hers and intertwining their fingers.

Their fingers fit together like nothing either of them had ever experienced.

"Why did you do that?" she asked as he pulled away, leaving both of them breathless. He brought their joined hands nearer, placing a light kiss to her knuckles.

"I wanted to." In truth, it had been involuntary, and he had found himself kissing her before he had even realized the thought had passed through his mind. But in that moment as he looked at her, her face a mixture of hope and vulnerability, he felt his emotions click into place inside of him and he smiled at her. It was like an epiphany to him as he lay there, silently taking in the way she looked. To him she was never more perfect. Her hair was damp and unruly, her cheeks taken by the traces of the tears she had shed and her eyes were red and puffy. Yet her eyes stood out to him like they never had before, pools of green with a hint of hazel peering at him in that mysterious way that was uniquely Peyton.

And in her eyes is where he felt a fire ignite. He knew then he was hers, and she was his. His Peyton.

"Be with me." He blurted out, sounding more like a sick puppy than a boy in love. Her mouth was agape. She remained like that for what seemed like an eternity to him.

Her heart was playing sick jokes on her again, it had to be. He couldn't have just said what she thought she'd heard. It was a dream. A twisted, horrible dream designed to make her wake up in hysterics and alone, just like every other night. She blinked frantically for a moment, expecting him to disappear before her and to wake up in the darkness of her room like all the other times. But he didn't. Instead he inched closer to her. One of his hands made its way into the curls of her hair, his fingers resting at the back of her neck. His face moved dangerously close to hers and he whispered her name into the thick silence of the room. His breath ran smoothly across her skin and she shivered, a chill running down every inch of her spine. He pressed a kiss to her jaw line, below her ear. His lips met her face in kiss after kiss. His mouth finally came senselessly close to hers and she felt fire throughout every part of her. She closed the gap between them.

_Fire._ They both felt it grow as they pulled each other closer and found a place where nothing else mattered. He pulled her slowly on top of him and wrapped his arms around her, the passion between them increasing as they both released moans of approval. She pulled her lips away from him and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes.

"I love you." she said breathlessly. Letting out with three words what she had been holding in for months.

He kissed the tip of her nose, pressed his forehead against hers again and looked her in the eyes.

He said it back.


End file.
